Finding Time and Losing Weight

In my most recent post I shared an idea for a method of staying on track. I'm happy to say it worked.
In the past eight days I have lost 2.4 pounds, found the top of my desk and made a LOT of progress on my children's book. I also made all four of the Mousekin birthday cards that I hope to be selling on MousekinMarket.com by September, so all four of my goals were met.     
                                   

One of the 4 new cards

                            
                    Here are the steps to take:

• Set small, achievable goals for each day
• Write goals down
• Post where you will see it multiple times each day
• Check off each goal each day as you complete it
• If possible, have a friend or family member share the news

This worked like a charm. I think I will make a habit of this.

The hour (or more) I spent each day at my desk in my studio was very productive. I did reading about writing children's picture books. I read several children's picture books. I made some major revisions on my text and have revised my thumbnails for the book three times.

New Insights:

1.  Decide what question your book answers.
2. Check to see that it is answered in what you have written.
3. Focus on that one small question.
4. Consider two levels: The child and the adult who is reading.
5. Keep reading new books, as tastes, formats and interests of both readers and publishers change over time.

Baby Raccoon and Mousekin

After I did this, I remembered a piece of advice from a speaker at an SCBWI workshop I attended several years ago. The suggestion was to draw a map of the space where your story takes place.  When I did this, I realized that by using the map, I could clarify the flow of action in the book. I changed a lot of things and switched one creature for another as I visualized the yard in which my characters are interacting. I also did some research on various animal species that appear in my story and, as a result, switched the order of baby birds and crows, and then dumped the baby birds and added baby raccoons instead. I think the fuzzy baby raccoons will be more attractive to young listeners than the  baby birds in pinfeathers.

I have accepted that several pieces of my original text will not appear in this book, but I comfort myself with the knowledge that they may reappear in another story in the future. I have definitely graduated to letting go, which makes revisions far easier and less painful. I've even accepted that the title will probably change and that the cool back-matter pages will have to become part of a website to support the book and its readers in the future.

For me, this was BIG progress in a short period. I now feel that I will really get back to work on the book. Now it's time to set the next set of goals and see how far I can go in the month of August  toward meeting big goals like:

• Print, package and market a set of Mousekin Birthday Cards by the end of September.
• Acquire a table at the Hollyberry Fair in November to sell Mousekin cards, puzzles and prints.
• Search for an agent and/or identify publishing companies that are currently accepting proposals from unrepresented author/illustrators.

Small steps can lead to big strides. We'll see how August flows. I'd LOVE to hear from you about whether any of this advice is helpful to you.

Cheerio,
Momma Mousekin

When is the Write Time?

May to July... Where did the time go? I have no self control about somethings, but am very disciplined about others. After all, I DID draw 366 mice (one for each day) in 2017. There have been years when I have done my Lenten Projects for 40 days and reached my goals. You can see the results of these productions at Pi-SunyerNaturally.com. So I don't feel incompetent or like a failure.

Since I last posted in May I did research and write the Centennial Journal for Camp Glen Gray. It turned out quite wonderfully, and I can't thank my friend Paul Holland enough for doing the production work on it. Everyone seems to love it, and I learned a lot working on the project. Our event in June, celebrating the 100th year of a former Boy Scout Camp my dad, uncles, brother and husband all attended, was a great success. That kept me busy too, setting up displays, writing press releases and such.

BUT this morning while doing my cardio exercise (fast walking with weights to tunes on my ipod nanno) I did a lot of thinking about how I can get myself to apply the same discipline to snacking, writing, drawing and clearing clutter. SIGH!! I guess it's a one day at a time scenario, just like drawing mice. The problem may be that with the previous projects I had something to show at the end of each day. NOT snacking, isn't visible. "Oh yes it is," says you. "You can track your weight." Well, I can tell you that there is no direct correlation there, as there are so many other factors that affect weight (meal size, saltiness of food, exercise duration and level, etc).

I just found a website that deals with "Staying on Track." There are six suggestions there and every one seems to have an application to my situation. #1 is to Focus on Fewer Things. The examples are - amusingly - starting a new business, writing a book, losing weight and redecorating the house. I"m trying to do three of those four things, and if you switch "barn" for "house" it's four for four! Wowsers!!! Someone is stealing my brain waves!  So I guess I need to prioritize and do #2, which is "Plan Ahead."

Looking at my calendar, I have nine days before there will be a chunk of days when I can't do anything on my lists due to other commitments. SO if I plan ahead and do #3 Set Milestones, I can accomplish a bit on several of my goals in that period and maybe even begin to do # 4: Build Good Habits.

 #1 - Focus on Fewer Goals: I have had this lovely window put in the barn to replace a broken window. The barn was painted last week and today the carpenter came to take out the windows for repair. I think the barn is off my list for the time being. Leaving my business, losing weight and writing.

Yesterday I drew one Mousekin picture for a set of birthday cards I want to have for sale on Mousekin Market.com later this year. If I do three more in the next 9 days I can feel good, but not stressed. For snacking/weight loss goal I just had  brilliant (I hope) idea. My usual dessert is two scoops of ice-cream. If I don't snack, I will allow my self this treat for the next 9 days. If I snack, it is fruit only for dessert. Starting right now!!  As for writing, I will find my dummy, clear my desk and spend at least one hour working at my desk for the next 9 days.

I now have some milestones and will, hopefully, be developing some good habits, by working toward these milestones.  Here is the chart that will go on my fridge. I'll be back to the blog next week to give you a report. I've already checked off two items for today. Now I'm going for another walk! Wish me luck AND try making a chart for yourself. In 9 days, or even 7, you can probably make a difference in how productive you are! Good Luck!!

Quick update: 4 days in. I've hit 3 of my targets every day. The 4th, working on the book, I made some very good progress on, though I didn't get to it every day. I'm also down .6 of a pound. While I didn't finish the 2nd Mousekin card on the day it was scheduled, I think I can still make the overall goal. And I've done a lot of other productive things too. So I DO recommend  that you try making a chart like mine. Good luck and let me know how you are doing.

See next post for final results. It worked!!

Setting Goals for 2016: Revising Text & Illustrations/The Mouse Project

The resolution to revise and get my book into the hands of an agent in 2016 is set. I'm committed to doing this. I have begun to revise the text in line with suggestions made at the SCBWI workshop I attended in October of 2014. I've done a lot of other thinking and have decided to include more animals and fewer plants in my story.

With this in mind, I am focusing on mice. Mice will be my page turners and will, hopefully, engage my young readers. So...I have set myself the goal of 365 mice this year: one drawing or painting or collage of a mouse every day.

Day one (January 1st) I drew a skeleton and also a mouse. Here is the skeleton from a photo on-line.  I think proportions were off, because the mouse I did from this skeleton looked really weird. I won't even post it it was so strange.


Day two, I think I did better. Here is my second fuzzy mousie.

He/she is much cuter than my mouse on steroids and the proportions are better. Front right leg is still probably too long. But a definite improvement.

Mouse #2 is followed by Mouse #3, which is kind of cute, but I think this one's right rear foot is too big. What do you think?

Now it's January 4th and Mouse # 4 (below) seems a good improvement. This exercise goes to show that if you keep drawing every day, your drawings will get better. I expect by February I can start doing some fun things with my little mice. I will have to train them to do my bidding, but I think they will help me with my book.

Tonight I began revision of the text and am now realizing I may have to scrap one of my favorite pieces of text and its accompanying illustration.

This whole revision thing is not fun, in that one needs to dump things one has struggled to create. Still, I hope that my pipevine trellis may be of use in another place, either in this book or in another.

Tomorrow I will continue work on the text, do another mouse and try to begin training the mice to follow directions.

I'll also go see the new Star Wars movie. Maybe I should try a robo-mouse sometime. So many possibilities.

I'd love to know what you think of my mice so far.